


a lily born of flames

by NikaWithSpice



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Age Regression, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, background riza/winry, everyone loves baby ed, kid Ed, tagging underage but nothing sexual happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikaWithSpice/pseuds/NikaWithSpice
Summary: “Kinda flower is that?” the child mumbles, cheek resting on Roy’s chest.“It is called Gloriosa superba. It is also known as a flame lily because of the way the petals resemble flames,” Roy recites.“S pretty,” Edward yawns, curling into Roy’s arms.“Never saw one like mine before,” the child says innocently.Or, the time that Edward Elric exceeded all previous attempts to make Roy's brain implode and very nearly succeeds.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 10
Kudos: 214





	a lily born of flames

**Author's Note:**

> For Killwaii, one of the only people capable of kickstarting my muse.

“I’m coming!”

The person violently attacking his front door must not be able to hear him because they continue to knock, rattling the heavy wood on its frame until Roy, frantically knotting the belt on his bathrobe, flings it open. A giant metal fist almost hits him in the face and he ducks just in time to avoid a black eye. A litany of apologies spout from the metal figure on his doorstep but it's hardly decipherable through the squalling of the small child flailing in Alphonse’s unforgiving metal arms.

“Colonel! I am so sorry to bother you but I didn’t know where else to go,” Alphonse says over the shrieks of the blonde child that he’s holding. The kid is maybe three and he’s biting and punching at Alphonse’s armor, screaming so loudly that lights are turning on down the streets. “Brother got dipped in this stuff that an alchemist was making and now he’s– he’s a baby!”

“M not a baby, you giant metal freak! Put me down! I want my mooooom!!”

Roy sighs. And then he sighs again. What are the odds that the Elric Brothers would land themselves in such a strange situation? And that it would land them on his doorstep at such an ungodly hour? “Please, won’t you come inside? Preferably before someone calls the police?”

Alphonse laughs nervously, hauling baby Edward up higher. “Thank you so much! I’m so sorry!”

“Put me dooooowwwnnn!! You’re hurting me!!!”

Roy closes the door behind them, ushering them in out of the night. The kid is still screaming and it occurs to Roy that Alphonse–in all of his hollow armor–must be terrifying to such a young child. Edward is snuffling and sobbing, punching the metal with all the strength his tiny body can muster and the sight makes Roy’s chest twinge annoyingly. He snags the throw blanket off the back of his couch and holds his arms out to Edward.

“Hand him here, Alphonse. Why don’t you go brew some tea and I’ll see about calming him down?”

“But…” Alphonse hugs the child close, only to exclaim wordlessly when Edward whimpers at the nearness. When he holds Edward out, the child reaches for Roy and the twinge in his chest becomes a full-blown ache. “Okay, I’ll just– I’ll go–“ Alphonse vanishes into the dark kitchen, clanking loudly as he goes.

“Hello, Edward. Is there a chance that you remember me?” Roy asks but he knows it’s hopeless. If he didn’t remember his own brother–

“No!” Edward kicks him, hard, right in the solar plexus. Roy almost drops him but he hangs on, knowing full well that if Edward escapes, they won’t find him. He’s so very small and there are far too many hiding places in Roy’s townhome. “I want my mom! Where’s Al? I was supposed to be watching Al!”

“Alphonse is perfectly healthy, Edward, I promise,” Roy exhales, the exasperation clear in the gust of air he expels.

The child goes limp in his arms, eyeing him suspiciously before saying quietly, “You know our names?”

Roy stares at him, taking in the intelligence in those golden eyes, the way he watches Roy. “Yes. I am a friend of Granny Pinako’s,” he stretches. The woman would probably string him up by his entrails if given half a chance but these are desperate measures. Edward’s eyes are bloodshot, his face puffy and red. He’s shivering but he doesn’t feel cold; Roy wraps him in the blanket anyway. “How old are you now? You’ve grown quite a bit since the last photograph I saw of you.”

“I’m three,” he sniffles and then adds, “Al’s two. I just taught him his letters.”

“That’s admirable, you must be a wonderful teacher.” Roy finds himself smoothing the wild strands of Edward’s hair, trying to detangle the snarls caught in the golden locks.

Edward snuffles again, huddling under the comfort of the blanket as Roy sits in the overstuffed chair by the fireplace. Edward surprises him by relaxing against his chest, going limp as if drained. And he certainly must be; whatever the brothers had gotten themselves into this time must have been catastrophic. He surprises Roy further when he reaches out and picks up Roy’s bare wrist in his teeny fingers, stroking them worshipfully over the flame lily that grows on the skin there.

“Kinda flower is that?” the child mumbles, cheek resting on Roy’s chest.

“It is called _Gloriosa superba_. It is also known as a flame lily because of the way the petals resemble flames,” Roy recites. He had researched the flower in great depth, to better understand himself and his soulmate–not that he’s ever found them. He’s never met anyone with the same type of flower in the same location, orange and dark red petals spilling over his wrist and tangling in a wild cluster of blooms over his forearm.

“S pretty,” Edward yawns, curling into Roy’s arms.

Where was this trust coming from? Edward has gone from distrusting him to cuddling him, in the span of minutes! Still, Roy pulls him closer, rocking him almost mindlessly. Alphonse must have gotten lost in the kitchen, either that or he’s taking the time to gather himself mentally, but Edward might be asleep before he returns. Those tiny fingers continue to move over Roy’s soulmark and Roy curses himself for finding the motion soothing.

“Never saw one like mine before,” the child says innocently as if he hasn’t just blown Roy’s mind to pieces, as if he hadn’t just shattered every thought in Roy’s brain. He can’t find words, he can’t find air. Edward holds his thin wrist up, slotting it beside Roy’s, showing off his matching soulmark. “They’re pretty.”

“They are beautiful,” Roy gasps, and he allows the boy to turn into him, threading those thin arms around his neck and falling asleep as if he hasn’t just thrown Roy’s entire world off its axis. All Roy can do is snuggle him close and stare into the flames flickering happily in the fireplace.

“Colonel? I fixed the tea,” Alphonse tiptoes back into the room so quietly his metal doesn’t even clank together. He pauses in the doorway, those fiery embers staring at the way Edward is curled around Roy. “Oh! You must be very good with children! Brother has never really trusted–”

Roy lifts his head, revealing the glimmer of tears in his eyes. Alphonse falls silent, waiting for Roy to speak, though it takes a long moment for him to gather the nerves needed to reveal this to Edward’s brother.

“We share a soulmark.”

Speaking it out loud… Roy feels the swell of it building beneath his breastbone. This tiny child is his soulmate. Edward Elric is his soulmate. He is fourteen years his senior, no wonder his soulmark appeared so late in Roy’s life. What must Edward’s parents have felt, when Edward was born with a soulmark already on his small wrist? Christ but Roy dragged Edward into the military, and yes he’s been trying to keep him out of the more dangerous missions but the Elrics are magnets for trouble. Roy has put them through hell and more.

And Edward… Edward’s soulmark is on his right arm.

It is no wonder his soulmate never came forward. Edward didn’t even know. How could he? He lost his arm before he really knew what the mark was, and then he turned his entire focus on saving Alphonse. Edward has never done anything for himself; he probably never will. He’s brash and headstrong and selfless and so very good and Roy doesn’t deserve him.

“Sir, this is wonderful!” Alphonse surprises him by creeping forward, the tea tray steady, so as not to wake Edward.

Roy just… stares blankly at him.

“Oh, this makes so much sense!” Alphonse continues, ignoring Roy’s catatonic state. “And this will make things so much easier! Brother has been stressed for years over the loss of his soulmark! He thought Truth took both his soulmark and his soulmate away as payment, that he’d never get to meet his soulmate and here you are! Can we take a photograph? And you look so cute holding him! Brother will be so embarrassed, I love it!”

“You can’t tell him!” Roy rasps out, sitting upright but carefully supporting Edward’s body weight. His eyes are wild; he must look feral, if the way Alphonse jerks back is any indication. “I–he deserves so much better than me, Alphonse! I am a murderer!”

“Oh, dear. You two _are_ made for each other, aren’t you?” There’s no way for Roy to see the pout but he can hear it, clear as day in Alphonse’s voice. “Sir. Please, sir. I say this with every ounce of respect that I feel for you but please, don’t be stupid,” he continues over the stuttering protests that Roy tries to spit out, “you both deserve happiness. You share the same soulmark. Whatever god there is, they looked through every soul that exists and saw that only you could complement Edward’s personality, that only Brother can complement yours. Why would you deny yourself that? Why would you deny Edward that?”

“He’s a child!” Roy shouts, and Edward shifts in his lap, his adorable nose scrunching up. Is this what Edward’s children look like? Longing strikes sharply in his chest and lodges there, burning. “Not just now,” he whispers, “but the two of you, you’re just children!’

“Sir,” Alphonse leans forward, armor creaking, “Brother and I have never really had a chance to just be children. But also, you don’t have to jump into things! You can court him for a while, adjust to the idea. And he’s sixteen, usually, anyway.”

“Can we talk about this later?”

“Sure. As long you promise not to put this off! As soon as Brother is back to normal, you’ll tell him!” Alphonse towers over him and Roy doesn’t want to admit that he’s threatening but well. This is his soulmate’s only remaining family.

“I promise,” he says, and the vow shimmers between them with a certain finality.

* * *

Edward refuses to stay with his brother and Roy can’t avoid work, not with the current state of affairs in Central. He’s just been transferred, he can’t afford to look anything less than the skirt-chasing, lazy but effective Colonel. Alphonse hits the library for research and Roy brings Edward to the office with him.

As a toddler, Edward is painfully shy around strangers and Roy finds the way Edward clutches at his military skirt endearing. He throws a tantrum to walk by himself and he’s so small that they make it all the way into his office before Hawkeye catches them.

“Sir.”

Roy sighs. Edward startles at her voice, hiding behind Roy and peeking around his legs to stare up at her. Her lips are twitching in that manner that hints she is close to laughter and desperately trying to hide it. He settles a hand on Edward’s golden head and says softly, “It’s quite alright, Edward. This is my lieutenant Hawkeye. Remember? We talked about my team this morning.”

Edward glares up at, mulishly keeping his mouth shut, but he reaches up and hooks his tiny fingers around Roy’s wrist, almost possessively. “He’s my soulmate,” Edward says, throwing Roy for a loop. Riza’s mouth drops open in shock, eyes wide as she stares at Roy. He shrugs helplessly at her. “Don’t like the way you look at him.”

“Edward, there is no need to be so rude!”

“Really, sir. It’s alright. Edward, is it?” She waits for Edward’s tiny head to nod. “You know how you feel about Winry?”

Edward beams at the mention of his friend. “Yeah! She’s like my sister! I have to protect her!”

Riza gives him a soft smile, crouching in front of him. She’s eye level with him, careful to talk to him as if he’s an adult. “That’s how Roy and I feel about each other. I have my own soulmate, see? My mark is different from Roy’s.” She rolls up her pant leg so that Edward can see the hawk carrying a wrench that spans the length of her calf.

Edward nearly falls over in his rush to see her mark, “That looks just like Winry’s! You’re Winry’s soulmate!” He relaxes, grinning up at her, though he’s still holding Roy’s wrist.

There’s a pause as Riza processes the information and then she smiles at him, “Thank you so much, Edward. It’s been a long time since my soulmark appeared, I was starting to think I’d be alone for a long time.”

“It’s okay, Winry will help you. She’s a hugger,” Edward wrinkles his nose, “but she’s a good person. She likes building things so you’ll have to give her lots of things to build!”

“I will do my best, I promise. Now, did Roy feed you this morning?” She uncurls from her crouch, though she’s still maintaining eye contact with him.

“Yeah! Eggs and toast! He didn’t even make me drink my milk!” Edward looks up at Roy with adoration beaming in those golden depths and Roy smiles helplessly down at him, ignoring Riza who is clearing her throat.

“Very well, then. Any requests for lunch? Do you need any toys?”

“Nah, I can make toys if I want one. Can I have some stew? Mom makes the best stew!” Edward’s attention has already shifted, he darts over to the shelf of books and picks one, returning to Roy’s side. “Oh! Can I have a chair? So I can sit next to Roy?”

“Of course! We’ll get one for you,” Riza is giving Roy that Look, the one that says that she’s scheming and Roy just accepts his fate. “Be a good boy for Roy and I’ll make sure to bring you a surprise, as well.”

“I’m always good,” Edward scoffs, and dear lord, of course, he’s always been like this. “Well, except for when I accidentally transmuted mom’s icebox but that was an accident, honest! I was trying to make Al laugh cause his gums were hurting.”

“You already know alchemy? You’re so smart!” Roy scoops him up, book and all, unable to resist the urge to hug him despite the scowl Edward directs at him. “Could you transmute these papers for me?”

“Nah, those look important, like dad’s journals and dad says not to touch those!” Edward leans forward, whispering in Roy’s ear, “We do anyway, that’s how I learned! You can’t tell, though! I don’t want Al to get in trouble.”

“Of course not, it’ll be our secret. Ah, look! Here is Riza with your chair, do you need anything else?” Roy sits him down on the chair, watching him squirm up onto his knees so he can see the desktop.

“Some paper and a pen? Then I can work like you!”

“He’s so cute,” Riza whispers. Roy agrees. Baby Edward is an absolute darling and Roy wants to spoil him rotten. “I just want to hug him. But I’d best let you get back to work, or else you won’t get anything done.”

“Right, work. Of course. I’ll get right on that.”

“Edward, could you be a dear and make sure Roy does his work?” Riza smiles sweetly at Edward who nods seriously, and then she turns that razor-sharp grin on him.

Roy throws an arm over his face and feins being shot, falling into his chair with a drawn-out groan. “Oh, you’ve turned my own soulmate against me! Cruel world! Such a mean fate! Such a mean lieutenant!”

Edward yanks at his coat sleeve and Roy lets himself be pulled toward the desk, overexaggerating his movements. “Don’t be a baby, everyone has work to do! Sit down and I’ll work too! That way it’s less boring cause you’re not alone.”

Riza slips him a note before she leaves them alone. It’s from Alphonse, telling him that he has a lead and he’s going to follow it, and he’s even taking backup. Huh. Maybe it’s not too late to teach the brothers caution.

“Does this look okay?” Edward grabs his attention again, staring up at him with those big eyes.

“Is this to transmute wood?” Roy takes the paper when it’s handed to him, admiring the smooth curves and perfect circles. “Into a cat?”

“Yeah, cats are Al’s favorite but I keep messing them up. I wanna get it perfect before I go home! Al deserves the best!”

Roy does not tear up, he absolutely does not, but he does lift Edward and hold him close. “You know, you deserve the best too, Edward.”

“What? Are you crying? Please don’t cry! I’m sorry!” Edward rubs at Roy’s cheeks, trying to clear away the few tears that escaped.

Roy laughs. “Edward, it’s fine. You did nothing wrong. I just want you to know that you both deserve good things. You and Alphonse both. It’s not one or the other, okay? You both deserve happy things.”

“Geez, it’s just a cat, Roy. Don’t even like cats that much,” Edward pouts but there’s an adorable little blush on his round cheeks.

“What do you like then?” Roy tilts his head curiously and hides a smile when Edward mirrors him.

“Like it when mom brushes my hair. Feels good. Um. I like books! All books! And I really like gargoyles! They’re so cool!” Edward’s arms spread wide as he grins, excitement pouring from him.

“Do you like fire?”

“Yeah but fire’s hard, I have better luck with iron. There’s iron everywhere!”

Roy grins and shifts his grip on him, sliding him to his left side so he can put his glove on. “Watch this okay?” Then he snaps his fingers, bringing to life a tiny fire gargoyle that stretches in the air, letting out a soundless roar.

“WAH! SO COOL!” Edward screams, clapping his hands together. “Can you do a dragon? What about um, um, what about a fire cat?”

“I thought you didn’t like cats?” Roy teases. He snaps his fingers once, twice; a dragon soars around the gargoyle with a kitten on it’s back. “How’s that?”

“You’re awesome!! My soulmate is the coolest!”

Roy does not tear up. It’s just the heat from the fire animals, racing around the room, that makes his eyes water. Roy is a colonel; he does not cry. He does, however, hug Edward close when his tiny fingers curl around the lapel of his coat, wrapping an arm around him when he stands up to point at the fiery creatures.

“Thank you, Edward. I appreciate that very much. That’s very kind of you to say,” he chokes out,

Edward turns from the fire to direct that precious smile up at him. “It’s the truth! Mama says you should always tell the truth! And kind things! You should always say kind things too!”

“Your mother is right,” Roy says, returning Edward’s smile with a bittersweet one of his own. He pets Edward’s hair, a smile growing when Edward leans into the gentle touch like a kitten. “You are a very kind young man. You’re going to do wonderful things, brave and selfless things. Just remember, you should do things for yourself too.”

Edward hums, leaning up to pat Roy’s cheek. Roy lets the fire creatures wisp out so that he can lift Edward, tossing him in the air just to listen to him laugh. “You’re the best! Again! Again!”

He hears the door creak open, hears the clicking of a camera shutter, but he ignores it. Honestly, he’s looking forward to seeing the pictures. He’s looking forward to showing them to Alphonse and later to Edward himself.

Perhaps they can even put an album together for him.

* * *

The next week passes too quickly, in Roy’s opinion.

Young Edward loves loudly and unabashedly. He is unafraid to run stumbling up to Roy with his arms held up in a silent plea to be held and once he lifts Edward up, settling him on his hip, Edward tangles his fingers in Roy’s hair and goes on an adorably tiny-voiced rant about something he did or saw in the scant minutes he was allowed away from Roy’s side. He takes naps curled against Roy’s side, halfway through reading alchemy journals out loud to Roy. He tags along with Roy to the office, where he sits quietly and works on creating alchemical arrays.

Young Edward is a tiny ray of sunshine without a single shadow to hang over his head and Roy intends to keep it that way. As do his entire team, along with Alphonse and Gracia. Elicia _adores_ him, especially since they’re the same size, even though Edward is only focused on trying to teach her alchemy. She even coaxes him into eating the rainbow ice cream at the local ice cream shop and to everyone’s surprise, he loves it.

He clambers into Roy’s arms afterward, curling his sticky fingers in Roy’s hair and promptly falling asleep, which garners a round of clicking from various cameras, immortalizing the soft smile on Roy’s face as he holds Edward and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. Elicia holds his free hand, swinging it between them and singing an incoherent song while Alphonse trails behind them, holding all the bags from their earlier shopping spree. Gracia snaps dozens of photos, carrying on her husband’s legacy of taking candid photographs, alternating between curling a hand over her gently swelling stomach.

Roy absolutely loves this time spent with Edward but he wants _his_ Edward back, wants to talk with him about their shared soulmark. About building their future together. He imagines nights spent together in his study, braiding Edward’s hair and pressing kisses to the bare skin of the back of his neck as Edward pores over ancient tomes.

So when Alphonse comes up to him, sheepishly holding a book, Roy is torn between relief and disappointment. He wants to spoil the child that Edward is– give him more than enough happy memories to carry him through the darker parts of his life– but he wants to speak with Edward. He misses the banter, he misses Edward’s sass and simultaneously selfless-but-rebellious nature. He misses those quiet moments when he comes back from lunch to find Edward napping on his couch while Alphonse watches over him, flipping through books and taking notes. Misses Edward correcting his alchemical doodles.

They spoil tiny adorable Edward rotten on the day before they attempt to return him to normal. They fill up an entire photo album with pictures of him transmuting things for Elicia and Roy’s team, little mementos that fill up their workspace and Elicia’s bedroom.

They take pictures of him and Roy napping on the couch in Roy’s office. Of Edward patiently showing Elicia how to perfectly draw circles. Of Riza sneaking in hugs, squeezing Edward gently before returning him to Roy so he can latch back onto him like Roy is his anchor, sleepily murmuring, “‘Oy, can we go bed now? Please ‘oy, ‘m tired.”

“Of course we can, sweetheart. We’ll be just a bit longer but why don’t you go ahead and take a nap? We’ll be quiet so you can get all that rest so your brain can grow bigger than your body, okay?” Roy laughs when Edward’s tiny fist collides with his chest but his face is relaxing in sleep, drool already pooling in his open mouth.

“Is he out already?” Alphonse peers down at his brother, and Roy imagines that he’s smiling though none of them can see it. “I’ve never gotten to see him like this, all tiny and peaceful and completely carefree. He’s so cute!”

“He is adorable,” Riza agrees, peering over Roy’s shoulder. “I admit, it’s hard to reconcile this child with the Edward we all know and want to tie to the wall to keep out of trouble.”

“As if that would stop him,” Roy says, chuckling. “He’d find a way out and then bring the wall down with him.”

“You’re right, Colonel,” Alphonse laughs. “And that’s why I hope this works, not just because I miss my big brother. Do you really want to see Edward go through his inventive phase? Because it was pretty horrible. He transmuted every stretch of ground he could get his hands on! And then he started experimenting with the trees and the creeks, and everyone started getting mad.”

“Ah, yes. Perhaps not the best idea. I’m not sure Central could withstand him at his most curious.”

“Yeah. So we should start preparing the array and the ingredients.” Alphonse sounds reluctant but he and Riza scoot the couch and chairs back, making room for a large circle in the center of the room. Alphonse expertly draws the array with a stick of chalk while Rize prepares the ingredients, and Roy takes advantage of his last few moments with this cuddly Edward, holding him close and swaying in place, shushing him when he moves in his sleep.

“We’re ready for him now, sir,” Riza says quietly. She and Alphonse watch Roy and Edward, fond and so very reluctant to disturb them. “In a few moments, we’ll have our brash Fullmetal Alchemist back.”

Slowly, Roy joins them just outside of the array. His knees creak as he crouches, his lower back complains as he stretches to carefully lay the sleeping child in the array. Edward’s face scrunches up at the loss of warmth, his body curling up on his side as he reaches for the stuffed gargoyle that Alphonse had transmuted for him, only to find bare air.

“Best hurry before he wakes up.” Roy steps back, allowing Alphonse to take his place in front of the array.

Alphonse takes a deep breath and exhales, repeats it. Then he crouches and draws another mark, completing the array and bathing the room with blue-ish bolts of lightning. It blinds them to the sight of Edward’s body changing, growing, but it doesn’t deafen them to the cracking of his bones as they grow, to the mounting cries building in his chest.

Roy shrugs out of his coat, prepared for the bare stretch of Edward’s when the lightning dies down and their eyes readjust. Miraculously, he has all of his limbs, all blessedly flesh and muscle and bone. Somehow whatever this was has battled Truth’s cruelty and won, leaving Edward whole on the ground before them, and Roy is quick to cover Edward with the coat.

“Wh– what happened? Where–‘oy?” Edward mumbles as he’s pulled up, into the shelter of Roy’s arms. Reminiscent of his smaller self, he curls his fingers in Roy’s hair and rests his head on Roy’s chest and Roy starts listing every alchemical symbol he has ever encountered, in alphabetical order, because Edward is no longer a child and he is _naked_ in Roy’s arms. “Roy?”

“I’m here,” Roy whispers, pressing his lips to the golden crown of Edward’s head. Edward’s fingers, pale and skinny and _flesh_ and warm, brush over the flame lily blooming over the skin of Roy’s wrist and forearm, likely comparing them to the matching one on his own arm.

“You’re my soulmate? I didn’t dream that?” Edward sounds stunned, breath rasping over his lips and warming Roy’s chest through the starchy fabric of his shirt. “Holy shit, I was a little kid? What the hell happened?”

“You didn’t dream any of it. We are soulmates,” Roy reassures him, feathering another kiss over his silken hair. He can _feel_ the heat of Edward’s blush, spreading over his cheeks. “We have a series of long conversations ahead of us. Would you like to go out to dinner?”

“Perhaps we should address the matter of Ed’s clothes first?” Riza’s voice shocks them out of their little bubble, forcing Edward’s head to burrow closer against Roy’s chest.

“Fuckin’– am I naked? What the hell, you old perv?” Edward punches him, just a glancing blow off of his shoulder, without ever moving his head.

“If you would quit trying to burrow your head into my chest, you would find that I’ve protected your modesty with my coat. Of course, it’s not as stylish as your flamboyant jacket–“

“No arguing! Brother, I am so happy to see you back to normal! And look, your arm and leg! They’re normal too! I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy before!” Alphonse drops down to hug him too, wrapping an arm around his waist carefully so as not to expose him. “And you found your soulmate! Brother! We should throw a party to celebrate!”

“No parties! Damn, I’m not even dressed! You gotta gimme time to get myself together! Roy! Back me up here,” Edward mumbles, and his exhaustion is clear in the barely-strung together words.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you have a nap on the couch while we procure clothes for you?” Roy cards his fingers through the long strands of Edward’s hair almost absently, delighting in the loll of Edward’s head as he relaxes under the soothing, gentle tug and pull of Roy’s fingers in his hair. “Doesn’t a nap sound lovely?”

“Only cause I’m really fuckin’ tired, not because your hands are magic,” Edward slurs. He is so tired, he doesn’t even complain when Roy scoops him up in his arms. In fact, he just snuggles closer to Roy, draping his arms around Roy’s shoulders, tucking his face against Roy’s neck. “Gonna talk about these ridiculous pet names, okay? Not gonna let you get ‘way with ‘em.”

“Of course, darling, as long as you continue to use this adorable accent,” Roy says. He only gets away with the teasing because Edward is already asleep, not quite snoring but definitely asleep.

Behind them, he hears, “Aren’t they so cute? I can’t wait until their wedding!” as Alphonse and Riza exit Roy’s office, leaving Roy alone with his dozing soulmate.

He attempts to lay Edward down but he latches on, locking his arms around Roy and whining, “No, Roy. I’m cold and naked, cuddle me.”

He looks so utterly darling, glorious and angelic with his eyes closed and his hair in disarray, that Roy cannot help himself; he kisses the bridge of his nose, the apple of his cheek, the curve of his jaw. Edward’s lips twitch and his cheeks bloom a delicious red but he keeps his eyelids closed over those golden irises, even as Roy raises his right wrist and kisses the blooming flower on his skin.

Edward’s eyes snap open, staring up at him in something akin to awe. “Roy,” he breathes, allowing Roy to lift his wrist, cradling his hand so he can press his lips to the back of Edward’s hand. A shiver wracks his body and Roy curls over him, lips brushing over Edward’s.

“Breathe,” Roy reminds him upon noticing the stillness of Edward’s chest, and Edward sucks in a sharp breath before raising his head, returning the kiss. Roy tilts his head, perfectly slotting their lips together before pulling away to remind Edward to breathe again. “My love, you should rest.”

“More kisses later?” he looks so sweet and innocent, even as he scoots back to make room for Roy to squeeze onto the cushions with him. They struggle, repositioning until Roy has his arms wrapped around Edward, with Edward’s head pillowed on his shoulder and one leg wedged between Roy’s.

“We have all the time in the world, my soulmate,” Roy promises.

Those are the perfect words to soothe Edward back to sleep, his body falling pliant in the cradle of Roy’s embrace, drool soaking Roy’s shirt before Roy can join him in his peaceful sleep. Perfect, he truly is so perfect for Roy.


End file.
